


The One Where Clint Teaches Pietro Sign Language

by respoftw



Series: Tumblr Prompts - Hawksilver edition [10]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Deaf Clint Barton, Fluff, M/M, oblivious boys in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-12
Updated: 2015-05-12
Packaged: 2018-03-30 06:40:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3926686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/respoftw/pseuds/respoftw
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pietro felt like a jackass when he realised that Clint was deaf.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The One Where Clint Teaches Pietro Sign Language

**Author's Note:**

  * For [elenorasweet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/elenorasweet/gifts).



> From the following prompt:
> 
> Anonymous said:  
> Clint teaching Pietro sign language
> 
> Also: props to the following [tumblr post](http://gladyoustuckyaround.tumblr.com/post/118728497932/clint-and-pietro-realizing-they-have-feelings-for) for inspiring the direction I took.

Pietro felt like a jackass when he realised that Clint was deaf.

Not least because the archer had told him so weeks earlier and Pietro had thought it was a practical joke.  Like the time that Pietro had convinced the rest of the team that he experienced normal time in slow motion.  (He eventually came clean when he couldn’t stand the pitying looks from Steve any longer, the disappointed one that followed wasn’t much better though.)

It was their thing. They joked around. So what if Wanda accused him of behaving like a five year old , teasing and pushing his crush in the playground. Joking with and teasing Clint was the highlight of his day.

But as he watched Clint look around dazed and panicked in the middle of a battle, after having been knocked flying by the latest piece of alien tech, he knows that Clint was telling the truth.

Before Cap could even make the call, asking for someone to help Hawkeye, Quicksilver was on it and racing the disoriented archer out of the danger zone.  As Pietro checked him over for head injuries he was hyper aware of the way Clint’s eyes didn’t leave his mouth as he spoke.

As much as Pietro wished that Clint’s eyes were drawn to his lips for sexier reasons, he was pretty sure that the knock he had took had somehow shorted out the fancy hearing implant that Clint claimed Tony had designed for him.

Dr Cho confirmed it when they were safe back at headquarters.  Clint was stone deaf until Tony could recreate the design of the implant, his original records having been lost during the cyber-attack by Ultron.

Yeah, Pietro felt like a jackass.

Clint had waved off his apology, assuring him that he had found it hilarious and smacked him upside the head when Pietro had tried to offer his sympathy for his disability.

Still, as he watched the rest of the Avengers talking and signing in the lounge, making it easier for Clint to follow the conversation without his hearing implant, he knew that he had to do something. 

*

“You want me to teach you sign language?”

Clint was staring at him in disbelief. 

“You?  Pietro Maximoff?  The kid who can’t sit still long enough to watch a movie, wants me to teach him sign language?”

Pietro stands his ground.  He doesn’t get what Clint has against the idea.  Everyone else on the team knew how to sign, even Wanda had started to learn, although being able to pluck the correct sign from someone in the room’s head gave her an unfair advantage.

“Fine,” Clint huffs.  “But you will pay attention and the minute that your mind wanders elsewhere then we’re done.”

“Deal” Pietro grins. 

It's easier said than done, of course. Pietro may have been exaggerating when he had spun his story about experiencing 'real' time in slow motion but the truth was that time did work differently for him. He may not have been seeing his team mates moving and speaking sluggishly but time did seem slower to him.

Clint was right when he said that Pietro couldn't even sit still long enough to watch a movie. They just seemed to last so long, his body started screaming at him to move, to run. He'd seen, during HYDRA's experiments, what happened when he didn't get a chance to burn off his energy. No way was he letting that happen to him again.

He'd rather die.

For Clint though? For Clint he would make an effort.

Of course their first lesson is a disaster. Pietro has trouble working the signs through at a normal pace and his hands end up flying and flapping about in a blur.

He swears he's not doing it on purpose, his energy just goes a bit haywire around Clint. It's almost as if his body knows that what he really wants to be doing is curling up, pressed against the other man and takes it upon itself to make him move to do that very thing. Being alone with Clint is an exercise in self control. And self control is one thing that Pietro has never been very good at.

Clint eventually just loses patience and grabs his hands out of the air and starts manipulating Pietro's fingers through the signs one by one, controlling the pace.

It's the single most sensual experience of Pietro's life. Which is easy to say when you have as little experience as Pietro. He had spent his entire life with Wanda as his number one priority, there hadn't been much time for him to address his own needs.

Although as Clint's strong, calloused hands grip his, as they delicately move Pietro's own paler ones into the correct positions, sending shivers of electric shocks down his entire body, he struggles to believe that this wouldn't be the most sensual experience of his life, even if he had a list of conquests as long as Tony Stark's.

Clint stops his movements as he notices that Pietro's attention is elsewhere. Pietro can see that he's about to launch into a lecture about paying attention and how he's got better things to do and Pietro needs to explain, he needs to let Clint know that he wants to keep learning, that this is important to him.

What actually comes out of his mouth is: “You have really nice hands.”

Clint does a double take, it would be comical under any other circumstances but as Pietro has just blabbed out one of the single most embarrassing things that he's ever uttered, he doesn't find it funny at the moment.

Clint's lips quirk up in amusement. “You think so?” he asks as he waggles his fingers in the air.

Pietro nods dumbly. It's probably that idiotic response that makes Clint realise that he was being serious. Pietro knows he could have played it off as part of their banter, he could have followed it up with “for someone who's 150 years old” or any one of a hundred other things but he just nods. It's time to throw his cards on the table.

He watches as thoughts ripple across Clint's face. He holds his breath, unsure of how Clint will react.

“I miss your accent.”

Pietro blinks, momentarily stunned. That wasn't what he had expected. Clint continues speaking before he can gather his wits again.

“It's the worst thing about losing the implants. I can handle the silence, I managed for years before Tony came up with a solution. But I miss your stupid accent. The way you mispronounce things.”

“Hey!” Pietro protests, finally finding his tongue. “I speak English much better than you would speak Sokovian.”

“ _Want to bet on that?”_ Clint answers in a pretty impressive attempt at Pietro's native language.

Pietro is beyond stunned. Since when did Clint speak Sokovian? Pietro is having flash backs to the compromising things that Clint may have heard him talk to Wanda about.  _Shit, was Clint in the room that time I was talking about how I wanted him to take my virginity?_

Clint laughs at the confusion and worry on Pietro's face. “Wanda's been teaching me” he explains.

“Why?”

“I'm hoping, for the same reason that you wanted to learn sign language.” Clint answers softly, bringing the hands that got them into this mess up to cup Pietro's chin. “Am I reading this wrong?” he asks.

Pietro shakes his head, struck dumb once again as he realises that he's about to get everything he ever wanted.

As their lips meet, the crashing energy in Pietro's body, the constant thrum that he needs to hold back at all times, settles. It's as if he's finally at peace.

As Clint pulls back, Pietro shudders. “What's the sign for _Wow_?” he asks.

Clint smiles as he shakes his hand loosely in front of him, showing the sign.

Pietro copies him. “Wow! I'm definitely gonna remember this sign.”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on [tumblr](http://pietrolovesclint.tumblr.com)
> 
> Russian translation available: [here](https://ficbook.net/readfic/3437098)


End file.
